Recreational Level 2 Avalanche Course Whitefish, MT

AIARE Recreational Level 2 Avalanche Course in Whitefish, Montana

Located in the beautiful Flathead Valley and beyond, The Mountain Guides Montana offers avalanche courses and skills courses to help you begin and refine your avalanche safety and backcountry knowledge. Our goal is to help you become a safer, more competent back country adventurer. In our Recreational Level 2 courses we’ve taken it to the next level by providing students with an opportunity to track the season with professional instructors there to help fine tune your skills and increase your knowledge and confidence. TMGM is offering a full season level 2 course this year. The course will still be structured in the hybrid format, however, the 3 field days will be spread 1 day per month. Starting in January, we will look at the snow pack and get a good picture of our early season conditions. As we move through the winter, we will expect students to be tracking weather and snowpack with self guided learning assignments between field days.

Recreational Level 2 at a Glance

• Location: Whitefish Mountain Resort, Whitefish, Montana
• Level: AIARE Recreational Level 2 — season-long format
• Prerequisites: AIARE 1 (Recreational Level 1) and Avalanche Rescue
• Format: Hybrid — three field days (one per month, January–March) with an evening virtual session before each
• Season: Winter
• For: Skiers and splitboarders ready to lead a group or take on more complex terrain

What You'll Learn in Recreational Level 2

The goal of a recreational level 2 course is to transition from being a strong participant in a group to being the leader of a group or being able to contribute on objectives with more complex terrain and less room for error. Our level 2 curriculum is designed to create a stronger knowledge base and a greater pool of experience with data collection and interpretation. We are excited to be piloting this new curriculum for The Mountain Guides. The course will accomplish all curricular standards set forth by AIARE and will qualify as a Recreational Level 2 course for all agencies that require this certification.

Course Format

• Hybrid AIARE curriculum with self-guided learning assignments between field days
• An evening virtual classroom session (6–9 PM) before each field day to review the assignments and plan the tour
• Three resort-based field days at Whitefish Mountain Resort, one per month, meeting at the base at 8:30 AM and finishing by 5 PM
• Students track weather and snowpack through the winter and must attend all three days to earn the Level 2 certificate

Who This Course Is For & Prerequisites

Recreational Level 2 is for skiers and splitboarders who have completed an AIARE 1 and an Avalanche Rescue course and want to step from strong group participant to trip leader, or to take on objectives with more complex terrain and less margin for error. The course meets all AIARE curricular standards and qualifies as a Recreational Level 2 for agencies that require it.

Why Take Recreational Level 2 with The Mountain Guides

• Professional instructors with you across the whole season, not a single weekend
• Track a real snowpack from early season to spring
• Meets all AIARE curricular standards; qualifies as Recreational Level 2 for agencies that require it

Continue Your Avalanche Education

Level 2 is the step from participant to leader. Check availability and this season's field dates in the Schedule and Course Dates tabs below.